2. Program Background
The Upper Guinean Tropical Forest ecosystem is one of West Africa’s eight ma-
jor biomes, and it has an estimated 9,000 species of vascular plants. Of these,
2,250 (25%) are believed to be endemic. The ecosystem ranks high globally for
both plant species diversity and endemism. However, this forest is highly degrad-
ed, having experienced dramatic encroachment and fragmentation as a result of
expanding human activities that have reduced the forest to approximately 10%
of its original 1,265,000-km² area. What forest remains is severely threatened
by continued use of unsustainable land use practices, mining and other threats.
The History of STEWARD
The STEWARD program is a forest conservation and sustainable livelihoods
program supported by the United States Agency for International Development
(USAID) and the United States Forest Service / International Programs (USFS/IP). STEWARD Goal
STEWARD’s strategic objective is to implement a coherent regional program that
addresses transboundary threats to biodiversity, capitalizes on regional opportu- The overall goal of the STEWARD program is to promote transboundary, landscape-
nities to spread best practices, harmonizes policies, and addresses the adverse scale strategies for, and promising approaches to, sustainable natural resource
effects of global climate change in priority zones of the Upper Guinean Forest management, improved livelihoods, biodiversity conservation, and climate change
ecosystem. In its design phase, STEWARD started work on biodiversity conserva- adaptation and mitigation in priority zones in the Upper Guinean Forest ecosystem.
tion (October 2007-June 2009). The pilot phase (July 2009-February 2011) STEWARD activities include building capacity for regional collaboration on biodi-
expanded on this by addressing regional threats to biodiversity, supporting peace versity conservation, sustainable agriculture, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH),
building, knowledge dissemination, and policy harmonization. Currently STEW- and harmonization of national policies for improved ecosystems and natural re-
ARD is in its implementation phase, a four-year (March 2011-September 2015), source management in transboundary priority zones in the Mano River Union States
18 million dollar program (with 6 implementing partners (CARE-Sierra Leone; (Guinea, Ivory Coast, Liberia and Sierra Leone). The STEWARD priority zones are;
Bioclimate Research and Development Ltd; PCI Media Impact Inc.; Thomson 1) Sierra Leone (Outamba-Kilimi National Park) / Guinea (Madina Oula, Soya and
Reuters; United Actors for Rural Development (AUDER); and Fauna and Flora Ouré Kaba sub prefectures and 2) Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire (Mount Nimba) / Libe-
International (FFI) through funding from USAID/West Africa. ria (East Nimba Nature Reserve) and 3) (potentially) Ziama - Wonegisi straddling the
border between Guinea and Liberia.
Notable successes of the design and pilot phases of STEWARD include:
• A successful regional policy harmonization assessment workshop, that forms
the basis for the current policy harmonization efforts in the region;
• Training and capacity building of government and local community partners
in natural resource management best practices;
• Development of sustainable forest management plans;
• Non-timber forest products analysis and training by the Nature Conservation
Research Center;
• Communications outreach and environmental education theater production
by the Wild Chimpanzee Foundation;
• Piloting of a community based carbon monitoring method;
• GIS training; and
• Establishment of the transboundary Gola Rainforest National Park through a
grant to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
3. Senegal
Mali
STEWARD Priority Zones
Mano River Union countries showing
location of PZ1 and PZ2 and proposed Guinea
approximate location of PZ3
10°0'0"N
PZ1
CONAKRY
FREETOWN
Sierra Leone
PZ3
PZ2
Ivory Coast
0
0
miles
50
100
¯ 200
Liberia
MONROVIA
km
Date Created/Last Updated 15/11/2012
Map Filename: STEWARD3_PMA_STEWARDPriorityZones
Coordinate System: GCS WGS 1984
Datum: WGS 1984
Units: Degree
Data Sources:
5°0'0"N
Topography and Admin: DIVA, STEWARD, SLIS,
Conservation International and WINROCK via USGS
PZ Definition: STEWARD and FFI/ERA
Biosphere: FFI/ERA
The depiction and use of boundaries, names and
associated data shown here do not imply endorsement
or acceptance by USAID, USFS or STEWARD and its
partners
Produced by Thomson Reuters for the STEWARD Project 10°0'0"W
4. STEWARD Partners
STEWARD implements activities through various stakeholders and partner organizations.
Stakeholders include the Mano River Union, conservation authorities in the Mano River
Union states, local and traditional authorities, communities and the private sector part-
ners. The implementing partners funded by the STEWARD program are: FFI
FFI works to establish responsive and replicable management
models that promote ecological integrity of the Nimba Mountains
and enhance the well-being of local people facing increasing
threats from human activities including subsistence pressures,
AUDER (United Actors for Rural Development) mining operations and climate change. FFI aims to do so mainly
AUDER activities are geared towards promoting sustainable agri- by improving collaboration between all stakeholders associated
culture and livelihoods in the rural areas surrounding the Nimba with the Nimba Mountains and establishment of harmonized poli-
Mountains in Guinea and Ivory Coast. AUDER has extensive expe- cies and legal frameworks for natural resource management in
rience in participatory community development. Activities include; the region.
strengthening the capacities of communities and stakeholders for
sustainable participatory development; improving land manage-
ment to conserve biodiversity and combat climate change; and PCI Media Impact
improve productivity of agricultural and fish production systems PCI Media Impact is an international leader in supporting social
and diversify incomes to enhance food security. change through communication by designing and implementing
media messages both to entertain and educate. This increases
Bioclimate audience members’ knowledge about an issue, creates favorable
Bioclimate is a non-profit organization based in Edinburgh, Scot- attitudes and changes behavior. Under the STEWARD program,
land, with a West Africa office in Sierra Leone. It strives to improve PCI Media Impact will equip and empower stakeholders within
the livelihoods of rural communities by helping them manage the Mano River Union to use Entertainment-Education and social
natural resources sustainably and access markets for ecosystem marketing communications approaches to enhance the program's
services. Within the STEWARD program, Bioclimate is working impact and support base and catalyze change among target
with local communities adjacent to Outamba/Kilimi National Park communities. Its communication activities, mainly through a radio
in Sierra Leone and Madina Oula/Oure Kaba and Soya sub- drama program and an awareness campaign will enhance local
prefectures Guinea, Priority Zone 1 (PZ1) to integrate a system of knowledge and understanding about natural resource manage-
Community Payments for Environmental Services (Community PES) ment, biodiversity conservation, climate change and WASH.
with community-based forest management. This incentive-based
approach aims to bring about lasting change in local land use
and livelihoods through improved governance and management Thomson Reuters
of natural resources, the promotion of small village enterprise and Thomson Reuters has been tasked with coordinating the Geo-
equitable sharing of PES benefits to help meet community health graphic Information System (GIS) for STEWARD and its partners
and development needs. Bioclimate is a partnering with CARE through establishing GIS centers and documenting customary
Sierra Leone in PZ1. land rights in selected communities of the project Priority Zones
(PZs) in the region. Apart from training, field staff, partners and
CARE government agencies in GIS and GPS, they will establish a GIS
CARE International has been fighting poverty for 50 years and Center in Freetown and replicate the GIS Centre activities within
works to enhance economic opportunities and sustainable liveli- the Manu River Union states. Thomson Reuters will also undertake
hoods of communities living adjacent to and in the buffer zones Pilot Community and Land Rights Mapping (documenting land
of Outamba/Kilimi National Park in Sierra Leone and Madina and resource information) and support for the GIS user commu-
Oula/Oure Kaba and Soya sub-prefectures Guinea (PZ1). CARE’s nity in Sierra Leone.
activities support the conservation and sustainable management
of the biodiversity and natural resources base of the area. In the
STEWARD program, CARE is partnering with Bioclimate in PZ1 and
works with several other partners (PRIDE, Sierra Leone Conserva-
tion Society, and Cornell University) to share knowledge and build
local capacity through information gathering, documentation and
dissemination of lessons learned and best practices of sustainable
livelihoods and natural resource management.
5. STEWARD Activities
Through its stakeholders and implementing partners STEWARD will:
• Improve policy and legal frameworks for natural resources manage-
ment, biodiversity conservation and climate change throughout the
Mano River Union (MRU);
• Assist in the development and implementation of forest management
plans on community lands and in protected areas to promote biodi-
versity conservation;
• Improve the capacity of forest-dependent communities and institutions
to mitigate and adapt to the adverse effects of climate change;
• Promote sustainable livelihoods in communities adjacent to forests
and within buffer zones;
• Develop climate-resilient Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sys-
tems and services among rural populations;
• Monitor program impact on land use and land cover change using
remote sensing and satellite image analyses;
• Develop viable Payment for Ecosystem Service (PES) models including
Carbon Finance; and
• Develop viable and sustainable Non-Timber Forest Products value
chains.
All activities are coordinated by the USFS/IP through their project office in
Freetown in collaboration with the USAID/West Africa Mission, implement-
ing partners, national governments, and other relevant partners. For more
information, please contact us at info@stewardprogram.com.